Oh No! Winter Killed Our Plants!

by Jill Kemerer

Winter was harsh. We're talking harsh as in negative thirties and forties for days back in February or March. Sorry, both months run together for me! They were both brutal.

And now June is here, but a few of our pretty plants are not.

Yes, winter killed some of our bushes.

Two knockout rose bushes didn't make it. One hydrangea died. And the tree my husband has always thought hideous is officially dead, too. (He's happy about it. I finally conceded it was time to chop it down.)

A few of our other outdoor plants had odd reactions to the cold temps. One bush died at the top but is thriving on the bottom. A boxwood has one side full of yellowish brown leaves, while the other side is as green as can be. It's weird!

Unfortunately, we've had a lot of rain all spring. In fact, you might say we've had rain every day this spring. And it's still coming! I just don't know how our bushes and flowers will handle it. So far, the grass couldn't be happier. It's growing roughly six inches a night.

Okay, I exaggerated, but still--grass needs mowing every other day.

It's strange to see empty farm fields that would normally have corn plants waving like Ys in rows. I love to walk, and I usually think, Oh, look, the corn is three inches tall. A week later, Wow, it has to be six inches. It's really moving.

*sigh*

Yes, I think about corn as I walk.

Clearly, I need to run over to the ice cream parlor and remind myself summer IS here and the corn WILL get planted and no matter how weird the weather is, our grass and bushes are hardy. If they survived that wacky winter, they'll surely survive anything summer throws at them.

Did the weather affect your lawn, trees, bushes or local crops?

Have a wonderful day!


Jill Kemerer is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of inspirational romance novels for Harlequin Love Inspired. She loves coffee, M&Ms, a stack of books, and long walks outdoors. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two almost-grown children. Please visit her website, jillkemerer.com, and sign up for her newsletter.

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She’s pregnant on his doorstep…

Saddle up for this Wyoming Cowboys novel

When his childhood friend Kit McAllistor shows up, widowed and pregnant, rancher Wade Croft offers her a place to stay…but he can’t offer her his heart. As old feelings begin to surface, past tragedies force Wade to ignore them. But on the brink of losing his ranch, will he also risk losing the woman he’s beginning to love…or can he cowboy up in time?

Purchase links for HIS WYOMING BABY BLESSING: Click here! 

Patricia Johns: Place Holder Boyfriends

When I was seventeen, I met a guy I could have married.

He was a really nice guy, very sweet and down-to-earth. We’ll call him Bob. He was blond haired and blue eyed, with this quirky little smile and with manners that made me feel special. He was a country boy, and about as sweet and honorable as they come. I was working at McDonald’s at the time, and he worked there, too. We started talking, and I could tell that he liked me–as in really liked me–but I had a long distance boyfriend.

Now, the long-distance boyfriend (let’s call him Ted) was another very nice guy. But there wasn’t a huge amount of chemistry there, and while we both really respected each other, it wasn’t going anywhere fast. Plus, there was about 4 hours of driving between us, so…

Anyway, one evening after work, Bob drove me home. He just sort of... hung around and ended up staying for supper. He got along with my family really, really well. My dad had never really taken a shine to Long Distance Boyfriend Ted, but Bob just sort of… fit in. He liked Star Trek like we did, and he loved my dad’s cooking. Bob was kind and decent, and I could tell he really wanted something with me. We just clicked.

So, the next day at work, I had to tell Bob about Ted. It was the right thing to do, and I wasn't the two-timing sort.  Bob, being the very decent guy that he was, bowed out. Like completely–no more chit chat, no more rides. He simply went away so efficiently, that I have no idea where he went or what became of him. But I often thought that if I hadn’t been dating Long Distance Ted at the time, Bob was the sort of guy who would have stuck. I could have dated him for a couple of years, and ended up marrying him.

Which would have been tragic, because then I wouldn’t have been able to marry Mr. Johns nearly ten years later, and in my mind there is a very big difference between a person you could marry and a soulmate. My husband, if you hadn’t guessed, falls into the latter category. He was a man I’d forever regret not marrying.

So, since we’re all thinking thankful thoughts this month, today, I’m thankful for Ted–the place-holder-long-distance boyfriend who kept me from getting involved with Bob. It’s funny how things turn out, but I truly believe that God’s hand was there, keeping me available for the man He’d chosen for me… for the man who was already praying for me in the heart of Africa.

Long Distance Ted went on to get married and have two children. I’m sure he’s equally grateful not to have married me. (Delightful as I am. ;) ) I don’t know what became of Bob, but he was an honest, good guy, and I like to think that he found his soulmate, too–someone worthy of him. He deserved that.

As for Mr. Johns, he immigrated to Canada and we met 9 years after the Bob/Ted situation. It took exactly two weeks for him to propose and a heartbeat for me to accept. We both just knew.

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This month, my Western Romance has hit the shelves! This is a sweet romance written by a Christian author. That means you can trust the books I write, no matter which line they are published in. I hope you enjoy this story!

 

 

COULD HE BE HER HERO? 
Hope, Montana, is no longer home to Andy Granger, who sold his piece of the family ranch to developers. He's only back to run a cattle drive in his brother's stead. But the community can't forgive him for selling out. And Dakota Mason, the beautiful cowgirl he hired, has every reason to hate him… 
Ranching is in Dakota's blood. And now the developers have cut off water her neighboring ranch desperately needs. She's only on the ride for a paycheck—not to turn her back on her community. And definitely not to fall for some overly protective urban cowboy. But Andy may surprise everyone…including himself.

Harlequin         Amazon           Patricia Johns Website

Patricia Johns: A Better Behaved Woman

There is a Marilyn Monroe quote that drives me crazy:

It dislike this sentiment so much because it suggests that bad behavior is "worth it" in order to get the sweet times. I couldn't disagree more--and that might sound callous, because I do understand the underlying plea... Underneath Marilyn's false bravado, under the swagger, there is something deeply sad: an unmet desire to be loved.

We all just want to be loved: by parents, by siblings, by friends, by a partner. No matter how wealthy or famous, that search for love is the same. Love me--even when I'm hard to love.

But is that too much to ask of a man?

I'm married, but that love is based on my behavior, too. If I started cheating, started hurting him, I could break that relationship irreparably. It would be possible to push him away. I can't just say, "Put up with my garbage, or you don't deserve my good times." That isn't fair to him. Nor would it be very mature of me. He loves me heart and soul, but maintaining a marriage is practical, too. He might still love me, but if I continually behaved badly, he might not be able to stay with me. It would be too much to ask.

If I'm looking for Someone to stick by me no matter what, I need to look higher. God loves me at my worst, and not because I'm so fabulous at my best, either. He is the One I can trust to love me as I am and not give up on me. And with that basic need met--being loved at my worst, treasured even when I'm hardest to be with--it makes me into a stronger woman, a better woman, a better behaved woman.

Because, at the end of the day, behavior still matters.

What does it take to make a relationship work? Christian or secular, everyone is searching for same answers. I've found my answer in the One who created my heart.

I write for three different lines in Harlequin--Love Inspired, American Romance and Heartwarming--and you'll see the Christian values I live by in all of them. This month, HER STUBBORN COWBOY is on the shelves, and I hope you'll check it out!

If you'd like to see more of my work, come by my blog! You can also find me on Facebook, where I'm always thrilled to connect with my readers.

Special Moments in a Writer's Life

Sometimes God drops special moments into an author’s life to let her know her work matters. That happened to me recently. I received a Facebook message from someone in my hometown, a woman I’d been acquainted with all my life, though we were never close friends. She wrote to thank me. Why? Because of her brother, now in his sixties, who had never read a book in his life. He’s dyslexic and struggled just to read and write enough to hold a job. I never knew that. Back in those days, dyslexia wasn’t diagnosed. Kids were just ‘slow’ or ‘dumb’. This brother saw that I had written a book and since he knows me, he was curious. He told no one about this until later, but he picked up my book and read it cover to cover. He couldn’t believe he’d done that. He couldn’t believe he’d read a whole book. Moreover, he couldn’t believe he’d enjoyed it. Now he wanted to read another. When he told his family about it at a large family gathering, they wept. All of them knew about his lifelong struggle with reading. I wept too.


I’m amazed sometimes at the ways God uses the work of my hands. Amazed and blessed.